autumn, Acadia

denisegoldberg

Acadia National Park is a favorite destination for me. I try to get there twice a year, spring and fall. Since these times are outside of the really busy season it's usually possible to get reservations (for a place to stay) with little notice.

I like to try to catch some semblance of fall colors. That can be a very interesting exercise given that my habit is to set a date a couple of weeks in advance. This time my visit coincided quite nicely with brightly colored leaves. It was a mid-week visit, heading up on Tuesday, October 18th, and heading home 3 days later on a gray Friday.

The Schoodic Peninsula was my first stop - even before heading into Bar Harbor to check in at the Holland Inn. The tip of the peninsula is my favorite place in the park to walk across the rocks and absorb the sight and sound of the ocean.

1 :: stacked and painted

2 :: a pool of water

3 :: a glimpse of a diabase dike

Moving away from the tip of the peninsula I found a beach of rounded rocks, a hard surface for steady walking!

4 :: rounded rocks

5 :: groundcover wearing autumn color

On Wednesday morning I started out with the desire to see the Asticou Azalea Garden in color. That wasn't my first stop though; some wooded areas beckoned first.

6 :: log trail over wet, leading to color

7 :: a curved bridge in a sea of leaves

8 :: Asticou in autumn color

I stopped to walk at Jordan Pond.

9 :: Jordan Pond

10 :: Jordan Pond

I made a clear-sky visit to the top of Cadillac Mountain.

11 :: colors on Cadillac

And I stopped to capture reflections.

12 :: trees, reflected

13 :: blue sky, blue water, color between

Thursday started with a walk from my B&B to the Wild Gardens of Acadia.

14 :: Jesup Path

15 :: a lone leaf

Next I spent some time walking the trail along Park Loop Road.

16 :: behind Sand Beach

17 :: jagged rocks, bright colors

18 :: reflections, just past Otter Cliffs

Afternoon brought a change in light as clouds started to roll in.

19 :: from Cadillac Mountain

20 :: trees and clouds

Friday morning was gray; fog had rolled in overnight and there was sometimes water in the air.

21 :: fog along Park Loop Road

22 :: predominantly yellow

As I was driving home, a splash of red ground-cover in a very foggy spot between Ellsworth and Bangor caused me to turn around and search for a safe parking spot

23 :: bright red!

It was another good visit. I love Acadia!

More photos from this trip are available in my gallery autumn, Acadia.

Thanks for looking in!

--- Denise

Eldon Shea

Great set Denise. I can see why you would go there twice a year - what a beautiful place. I'm particularly fond of your shots numbers 1, 11, 14, and 21 . Nicely done.

denisegoldberg

Eldon Shea wrote: »

Great set Denise. I can see why you would go there twice a year - what a beautiful place. I'm particularly fond of your shots numbers 1, 11, 14, and 21 . Nicely done.

Thank you Bryan!

I have to admit it was really hard choosing favorites to share here.

--- Denise

roaddog52

A great set! Hard to pick a favorite, but 6,7,14 and 15, hell, they're to many great images to pick a favorite.

I'm going to have to haul my self of the west coast, past the Rockies, and get out east again. thanks for sharing.

Phil

denisegoldberg

roaddog52 wrote: »

A great set! Hard to pick a favorite, but 6,7,14 and 15, hell, they're to many great images to pick a favorite.

I'm going to have to haul my self of the west coast, past the Rockies, and get out east again. thanks for sharing.

Thanks Phil!

You need to get out east and I need to plan a trip to the west; it's been too long. Luckily I can always find good relatively close-to-home spots for photo wandering.

--- Denise

jerryr

Very nice - I like #11,#12, and #21 of the group

denisegoldberg

jerryr wrote: »

Very nice - I like #11,#12, and #21 of the group

Thank you jerryr!

captnemo

Lovely shots, You mentioned it's usually possible to get a reservation with little notice since it's not their busy season, what is? Summer I presume? Do you stay in a motel I'm likely to find on price line or trip advisor or any tips on good places to stay? I dont have a particular trip in mind but who knows Thanks.

denisegoldberg

@captnemo said:
Lovely shots, You mentioned it's usually possible to get a reservation with little notice since it's not their busy season, what is? Summer I presume? Do you stay in a motel I'm likely to find on price line or trip advisor or any tips on good places to stay? I dont have a particular trip in mind but who knows Thanks.

Thank you!

Yes, summer is the busy season. It's usually packed on Memorial Day weekend but gets quiet again in early to mid-June, getting busy again late in June. I usually try to visit in May and October, have also been there in early June and December. Acadia National Park is open year-round but many of the roads in the park are closed off season. Check the park's web site for current road information.

I usually stay at the Holland Inn in Bar Harbor. When I've visited in the real off-season (December!) I stayed in Ellsworth.